Teaching poor children

A hard road to hoe

Does the Teach for America programme really improve schools?

AS THE 58,000 pupils of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) begin a new school year, their teachers are adjusting to a controversial new boss. Michelle Rhee, a rookie superintendent, is an unusual choice to run one of the worst school systems in America. She is the youngest chancellor ever of DC's public schools and the first non-black to run the system in four decades. But the most interesting aspect of Mayor Adrian Fenty's choice is that Ms Rhee is an alumna of an outfit called Teach for America.

Only about half of Americans growing up in poverty complete high school, and those who do reach only an eighth-grade standard. In an effort to solve that problem, Teach for America (TFA) recruits top college graduates—usually people without teaching qualifications or experience—and asks them to spend two years teaching some of the nation's poorest children. “We need fundamental systemic change and we believe our people can help be a force for that,” says Wendy Kopp, TFA's founder and CEO.

A lot of people agree. Business Week honoured TFA as one of the best places to launch a career. Fast Company included it in a list of “Entrepreneurs who are changing the world”. And the organisation is popular; it has grown from just a few hundred corps members in 1990 to more than 5,000 teachers in 26 regions today. It aims to nearly double in size by 2010, and has just announced plans to support similar programmes abroad.

The effectiveness of TFA teachers is hotly debated, however. Critics point to studies that say traditionally certified teachers perform better. Even some supporters worry that teachers don't stay in the classroom much beyond the end of their two-year commitment. Randi Weingarten, the president of New York City's United Federation of Teachers, wants more TFA teachers to stay after two years because of the large initial investment. But TFA, supporters say, has never promised its teachers will stay longer.

The TFA says the most reliable data on the comparative effectiveness of corps members comes from a study by Mathematica Policy Research in 2004. Uniquely, the study randomly assigned students within the same schools to teachers both from TFA and traditional certification programmes. It found that students taught by TFA teachers performed slightly better in maths and about the same in reading as those taught by non-TFA novice teachers. But Ms Kopp acknowledges that even the better results shown by one study will not, by themselves, be enough to achieve the TFA's goal: an “excellent education”, one day, for “all children in this nation”.

It will be hard for even a corps of 10,000 teachers to have a large impact in a country that has 3m teachers in public schools alone. But the influence of TFA's alumni, supporters say, is at least as important as the direct impact in the classroom. Placing alumni in other sectors, where they may pioneer changes, is a cornerstone of TFA's strategy. Ms Rhee, the DCPS chancellor, is just one example.

Whether or not they stay in the classroom, the vast majority of corps members are both enraged by the state of the public education system and confident they can help fix it. Every year, Gallup asks the public “Why do we have low educational outcomes in low-income communities?” and offers 20 possible answers. The public's top three responses are “lack of student motivation”, “lack of parental involvement” and “home life issues”. TFA teachers point to “teacher quality”, “principal quality” and “expectations”.

Ultimately, TFA isn't meant to solve the teacher-quality crisis or end teacher shortages or even to create lifelong teachers. It hopes to improve the public education system by convincing young leaders to teach. Critics say the model is wrong, and that the problem lies with parents or pupils or funding, not the teachers. But Michael Podgursky, an economist, says schools can't use home life as an excuse. Andy Rotherham, a former Clinton administration official who now serves on the Virginia Board of Education, is confident TFA will ultimately succeed. “Public education in the United States is...being de-regulated, and that never happens without a fight. What it really boils down to is producer interest versus consumer interest. In the sweep of American history it may take a while, but the consumers ultimately win.”